Posts Tagged ‘tablet’

Tablet computers have become mainstays in our lives in recent years. The compact, yet powerful, nature of these devices makes it easier than ever to perform computing tasks in almost any environment. But most consumer-grade tablets aren’t designed for things like labs, construction sites, or other specialized areas. That’s where Panasonic’s line of Tough Tablets come in.

Aylee stopped by the Panasonic booth to speak with product manager Steven Sikorski. Steven showed off Panasonic’s new line of rugged tablets that are designed to be used in any possible environment. These tablets can run on up to two batteries for 16-20 hours before needing to be recharged. These rugged tablets start with a smaller 7-inch highly portable model and run all the way up to the 20″ ToughPad 4K. All of Panasonic’s Tough brand tablets are currently available for purchase and pricing varies, depending on the model.

Aylee Nielsen is a video host who specializes in covering live events for PLuGHiTz Live.

HandScape claim to be “Reinventing touch” and honestly, it’s not far from the truth. Their HandyCase puts a touch-sensitive panel on the back of a smartphone or tablet which lets the user work the device without fingers obscuring the display. LG has put buttons on the back of smartphones before but HandScape take it to the next level. Todd and Marlo see the possibilities with Tong Luo, founder and CEO.

Originally a Kickstarter project, the HandyCases for iPhone and iPad incorporate a touch-sensitive digitiser into a shell case. With multipoint capability, the touches, swipes and taps are transmitted via Bluetooth to the device which then reacts as if it had been tapped on the front display. This is genius. Imagine holding your smartphone in your hand and being able to scroll through your contact list by stroking the back of the phone with with one finger, and then double tapping to dial the number. Fantastic!

Cases are currently available for select Apple products with prices up to about US$150. It’s not 100% clear from the website what works now and what requires developer support so if you are thinking of buying you might want to confirm to avoid disappointment.

Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com and Marlo Anderson rounds up the latest technology news at The Tech Ranch.

OIO has created a high tech speaker case for iPads and other tablets. It is called Amp. It folds up and becomes a case when not in use. The case is made from precision aluminum and comes with an adjustable built in stand. The speakers can be set to different angles.

Scott spoke with Gregg Davis from OIO who shared details about this innovative product. The tablet and speakers connect via Bluetooth 4.0. The speakers keep the separation of the 2 channels, left and right, like you would expect if you were watching a movie in a theater. They provide double the volume of devices like the Mini Jambox or Beats Pill.

A single charge enables the speakers to work for up to 7 hours. A tablet can snap in and out of the case with ease. The sound from the speakers can fill a room. Or, you can use your earbuds or headset instead.

OIO is currently taking preorders for Amp. It is expected to become available in April of 2015 for a street price of $199.00.

Tablet computers have become fixtures in our everyday lives. In recent years, this market has exploded, with multiple vendors releasing many new products. One of these companies is Southern Telecom, who showed off its new Windows tablet at CES 2015.

Scott spoke with Isaac from Southern Telecom. Isaac explained that his company’s new Windows tablet runs the “full-blown” version of Windows and also comes with a full-sized keyboard. The tablet will ship with 32gb of onboard storage and a Micro-SD card slot. This tablet should sell for the impressive price of $249 and will be available in May of this year.

The touch interface goes back as far as the early days of mobile devices to the Apple Newton and Palm Organiser. Elliptic Labs now add non-touch to the mobile user interface with ultrasound gesture recognition. Todd gets a demo from Laila Danielson, CEO.

Elliptic Labs use an ultrasonic speaker to create a sonic field around the mobile device. Moving a hand in front of the device creates ultrasonic echoes which are picked up by microphones and the changes in echo patterns are converted into gestures. For example, waving a hand from left to right scrolls a picture gallery. Moving a hand closer to the phone brings up additional information on a film or movie.

It’s currently a prototype device being shown to OEMs so expect the technology to appear on mobile devices in the next year or two.

Tablet computers have become such mainstays in our day-to-day lives that it’s nearly impossible to remember what life was like before them. And while tablets are often lightweight and easy to use, sometimes it’s necessary to get them into more comfortable or convenient positions. That’s where Octa and its full line of accessories come in.

Todd and Nick got a hands-on demo from Prometheus of Octa. He showed off several of the company’s products, noting that they had won an award at CES 2015. Octa has an impressive line of accessories for turning tablets into truly hands-free devices. Pricing starts at $79.

After over 20 years of research and based on the emWave2, HeartMath has created the Inner Balance Digital App. The Inner Balance Digital app can help you reduce stress in your life. The product consist of an iOs app which is available for iPad and iPhone and the HeartMath sensor that clips to your ear. It reads your heart and breathing. It trains you through twice a day daily use to main proper breathing of 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out. You also learn to reach a calm aware Zen state where your heart beats at an even rate and its graph looks like rolling hills instead of jagged mountains when you are under stress. The app shows you both your breathing rate and your heart beat. When you are through your results are shown in easy to read graphs and charts.

The sensor and app together should sell around $99.00. Inner Balance Digital app will be available soon at the Inner Balance website. To receive a pre-release version send an email to info@heartmath.com.

GNC first saw Sphero at CES last year and it’s a really cool toy: a rugged waterproof ball controlled from a smartphone or tablet. So what has Sphero been up to in the past year…Todd and Don find out from Ian Bernstein, CTO Founder.

While the hardware is unchanged from last year, Sphero has grown the number and type of companion apps from around 5 apps to over 20 with several produced by third parties. New on the scene is a mixed reality app which uses the tablet or smartphone’s camera to track Sphero and overlay Sharky the Beaver on the device’s screen. It’s particularly fun as the real-world interaction with Sphero creates a relationship with the cartoon character which makes it that bit more believable.

Sphero works with both iOS and Android devices, and retails for around $130. Lots of fun and there’s an SDK if you feel like rolling your own (sorry!)

The distribution of HD content within the home has been a problem – if you want to preserve video quality. HD Home Run is an established product that permits you to have the output of up to three tuners converted to broadcast quality MPEG-2, and then distributing it through the wired home network. However, as soon as you add a device like a smartphone or tablet, you will find that the on-board devices are just not able to keep up with the decoding task. Plus, the bandwidth on the home WiFi network is not going to be able to keep up. Networking of video in the home, using Conditional Access you are able to stream video to any connected device – wired, or wireless Android or iOs. The new HD Home Run system takes up to four separate video streams and does a real time transcode of the MPEG-2 to H.264 that can be carried over WiFi, and easily decoded by the processor in the tablet or smartphone. The new system is fully compatible with Windows8. TPN Interview by Andy McCaskey, SDRNews .

At least when they are the Breffo Spider– a mounting system for desktop, auto, bike or cubicle. It’s not clear if they love spiders, or if they are buying them for gifts, but it’s been a surprising trend since it was introduced a year ago. Applicable to any sort of mobile device, the completely pliable legs capture GPS units, smartphones, cameras, radar detectors, portable radios, music players and other devices. Using a premium grade of steel rod, it holds in position rather than springing back. Oriented in portrait or landscape, it can be molded to the car headrest or other vehicle parts. TPN Interview by Andy McCaskey, SDRNews and Scott Ertz, F5 Live: Refreshing Technology .